The fear was that the Nerazzurri would seriously miss the Cameroonian goalkeeper, but the Swiss has proven a massive upgrade
In May of last year, Inter had little intention of selling Andre Onana. The Cameroonian goalkeeper had only arrived at San Siro the previous summer and was enjoying a stellar debut season in Serie A.
“It is difficult to predict the future,” Inter CEO Beppe Marotta told reporters at the time, “but we have not received any offers and he wants to stay, so we do not intend to put him on the market.” However, while Marotta is no Nostradamus, he is a master of the transfer market, capable of spotting a bargain a mile away.
So, when Manchester United offered £47 million ($57m) for a player that had joined Inter on a free transfer, Marotta knew it was an offer too good to turn down, particularly as Inter’s constant cash-flow problems nearly always necessitate the sale of at least one high-profile player every year.
The problem, of course, was how to replace a goalkeeper that had wowed the watching world with his daring distribution of the ball during Inter’s unfortunate Champions League final loss to Manchester City last June.
With former No.1 Samir Handanovic having retired at the end of the of 2022-23 campaign, coach Simone Inzaghi was understandably getting a little antsy as the start of a new season approached with his employers still searching for an Onana successor.
